UNIONDALE, NY – MARCH 25: John Scott #36 of the Minnesota Wild skates against the New York Islanders on March 25, 2009 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The stars finally seem to have aligned for John Scott and the Wild. Opportunity, attitude and performance have come together just in time for the big defenseman to contribute as Minnesota battles desperately for a playoff spot.

Yet the timing isn’t perfect, because Scott will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

“I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” he said. “You’d have to ask my agent. He says it’s good.”

Though the collective bargaining agreement has allowed many young players to become unrestricted, Scott’s case is unusual. At 26, he already is playing through his third pro contract, though he has played only 16 NHL games — all since Jan. 1.

But he has been good, good enough to play in 11 of 12 games since being recalled for a second time on March 8. Not bad for an undrafted free agent whose college career was notable mostly because he was considered Division I hockey’s tallest player.

As Wild general manager Doug Risebrough points out, Scott probably wouldn’t be an unrestricted free agent this summer if he had done more to convince the team he had a future. Now, however, it seems clear that he does.

“Sometimes it takes a long time for players to be able to demonstrate they have a chance,” Risebrough said. “For every player who plays 10 games and makes a career out of it, there are eight guys that don’t.

“Our standpoint is we’re not bothered by someone who might be unrestricted; we’re more positive that we might have found somebody.”

Scott was called up the second time because Brent Burns was suffering from serious concussion symptoms (he has missed 16 consecutive games), and certainly that has contributed to his ice time. But Scott also has created a niche — something the Wild have perhaps never had:

Scott, 6 feet 8, 260 pounds, is a physical defenseman who can intimidate in the corners and clear people out of the slot. Even if Burns were healthy, coach Jacques Lemaire said, Scott likely would be getting some minutes.

“What I like is he’s a big guy, he’s got a long reach, he’s solid when he gets the puck, he’s got an easy first pass out,” the coach said. “And he’s a great team player.”

But Scott isn’t doing cartwheels yet. The Wild are three points out of the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot with just five regular-season games remaining.

“It’s tough to feel good when we’re in this position,” Scott said. “I’m sure at the end of the year I’ll look back and say I made a name for myself and opened the door. But it’s bittersweet. You can’t really feel good about it because I want to make the playoffs.

“We’re in a tough position; you can’t feel good about something like that.”

Of the four rookies who have played for the Wild this season, only NHL hits leader Cal Clutterbuck has made a stronger impression. As Lemaire pointed out, Scott has been remarkably steady in his 16 games, a solid minus-1 though he has only one assist.

“He listens,” Lemaire said. “He knows what he has to do, and if he makes a mistake, he knows what he should have done. And he’ll get better, he’ll get quicker. He’ll learn to play with the quickness up here (in the NHL).”

When Scott enrolled at Michigan Tech in 2002, it was more about school than the hockey. He’s one class away from a mechanical engineering degree and said he’ll finish it this summer. But his enthusiasm for engineering is suddenly waning. “It’s another field I could work,” he said. “I definitely wouldn’t want to.”

Now it’s all about the NHL, and the Wild.

“I want to play here,” he said. “I think I can compete, I think I can help this team. This is where I want to be; there’s no other option for me. That’s it.”

That will play out after July 1, when the NHL’s free-agency period begins. Risebrough said Scott is definitely in the Wild’s thoughts, and points out: “I do know more about him than someone else’s player. And … we’ve worked with him to get him to this point.

“But give him credit: He’s ready, and that’s the critical mass — when the confidence is ready, and the knowledge of the opportunity. It’s not always aligned like that when a player is called up.”

As you comment, please be respectful of other commenters and other viewpoints. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be defamatory, rude, insulting to others, hateful, off-topic or reckless to the community. See our full terms of use here.

More in Sports

It was clear early on that the Gophers women’s basketball team was in for a physical game against Army. Minnesota didn’t seem to mind all the hands, elbows and hips directed its way — the Gophers play in the Big Ten, after all — and earned a 70-52 victory over the Black Knights on Thursday night at Williams Arena. “I...

TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors pushed aside the Minnesota Timberwolves — again. With Toronto down 95-94 with 8:46 left, DeRozan and Lowry keyed a 17-4 Raptors run that took the game away from the youthful Timberwolves. Toronto eventually pulled out a 124-110 victory, handing Minnesota its 13th straight loss at Air Canada Centre. “We just...

Members of the Missouri Tigers volleyball team are ready to have about 5,500 people rooting against them Friday night at 7:15 p.m. when they take on Minnesota’s Golden Gophers in the first round of the NCAA volleyball Minneapolis regional. “We’ve competed against a Big Ten team (Purdue, whom 27-5 Missouri defeated to advance to the regional semifinal) and that wasn’t a...

Unafraid of introducing his players to advanced statistics, Gophers coach Richard Pitino routinely tells his squad where they stand among college basketball’s top teams in stats not included in a box score. He prints out charts that combine traditional and advanced statistics, discusses them with players at practice and has an assistant track them during games to help with adjustments....

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was optimistic punt returner Marcus Sherels will be able to play Sunday at Jacksonville, which would be a boost to a special-teams unit that struggled in several phases in last week’s loss to Dallas. Sherels has missed three of the past four games because of injury, including the previous two. Adam Thielen and Cordarrelle Patterson assumed...

When Mat Robson visited the University of Minnesota last month, he knew it was for him. Bright lights. Big city. Elite players. In Minneapolis, the 20-year-old saw a place similar to his hometown, and a chance to play goalie in front of 10,000 fans at Mariucci Arena. “The first and most important thing was going to a great program,” said...